Edit: I couldn’t manage to upload the file correctly, so I’ve had to cut and paste, unfortunately.

Catherine Flynn

Dr. Jo Anne Harris

English 1102 M

30 October 2009

Birthrates in the Land of the “Pramfaces”: The Effects of Digital Media on the United Kingdom’s Fertility

While alarmists have posited for years that the world will soon be overrun with an exploding population, leading to environmental, social, economic, and health crises, Western Europe faces a very different predicament.  A falling birthrate has led to an aging population and the possibility of a diminishing workforce, which politicians insist demands pronatalist[1] policies.  The United Kingdom has one of the highest birthrates in Western Europe, though still below what is considered a population-sustaining birthrate, yet the United Kingdom is considered one of the least “baby-friendly” countries.  Various forms of digital media, especially television and the Internet, reflect family life and culture, and an analysis of the digital media available in the United Kingdom shows that perhaps the culture actually discourages large families and even pregnant women.  The racial and gender issues involved in the new push for pronatalism as well as the social pressures on women have caused conflict in society, and these pressures, as well as the conflicts that come with them, are reflected in and perpetuated by digital media.

Digital Media Access in the United Kingdom

There can be no doubt that digital media plays a large role in shaping and perpetuating the collective norms of the United Kingdom.  According to the most recent estimates from the CIA World Factbook, somewhere around 65.7% of the population uses the Internet regularly, and the land line and cellular telephone systems are considered advanced and extensive (“World Factbook”).  In addition, a report from the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics reports that 70% of households have access to the Internet, and a growing percentage of these users are watching and listening to television and radio on the Internet (Office for National Statistics).  However, regional differences in access to digital media exist even in a country as developed as the United Kingdom.  Wales has fewer digital industries than many Western European countries and limited access to broadband.  There is also limited access for Welsh speakers online, although Wales is officially bilingual, and the hilly landscapes sometimes make “access to broadband and mobile networks” unreliable (“Digital Inclusion”).  Due to changing norms, however, organizing and providing access to digital media is now a government policy issue (Sourbati).  Parliament and private groups alike are working to promote media literacy and bring digital business to Wales and the entirety of the United Kingdom (“Wales Digital”).  The program “Digital Britain” proposed in the summer of 2009 set out to “[maximize] the social and economic benefits from digital technologies” and aims to provide  universal broadband access by 2012, although contention surrounds this issue because of the tax on land line phone service required to pay for this program (United Kingdom, Department for Culture, Media and Sport).

The United Kingdom’s socialized system affects other areas of digital media as well.   The British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world and is run by an Executive Board and the BBC Trust.  Established by a Royal Charter, the BBC theoretically enjoys what it calls “editorial independence” (“How the BBC”).   Since the BBC is funded by a license fee, debate has historically surrounded who should choose what is broadcast on the BBC; some, like the well-known Mary Whitehouse, demand that the BBC respond to the viewers and taxpayers, while others denounce any sort of censorship.  Mediawatch-UK, which developed from Mary Whitehouse’s Clean Up TV campaign, exists to condemn what it considers inappropriate or obscene shows on the BBC, and its members have made progress in getting a “public consultation” program put in place by the BBC (“Homepage”).  Because the BBC represents the United Kingdom to much of the world and pervades almost all forms of digital media, concerns about the societal norms and values expressed are understandable.

Representation in Digital Media

Digital media plays an important role in the cultural views of pregnancy and children.  For example, the various environmental advertisements and advocates on television and on the Internet have led many to advocate not having children in order to reduce the carbon footprint[2] of the United Kingdom.  One online journalist asserts that, “our growing numbers and our unchecked impact on the natural environment move us inexorably toward global calamities of unthinkable severity” (Feeney par. 2).  Environmentalists cite overpopulation issues, despite the United Kingdom’s low birthrate, and the possible environmental impact of each child.  Another environmentalist and journalist, although admitting that she is uncomfortable with the possible environmental impact of more children, muses whether “it’s the media’s fault that some of us feel as if humanity is sliding from one patch of melting ice to another in a murky sea of financial, environmental and social woes” (Benn par. 30).  This has led some to both refuse to have children and encourage others to refrain from becoming pregnant as well.  While only extremists advocate enforcement of how many children a couple can have by law, many support the voluntary use of contraceptives and abortion to control the population for the benefit of the environment (“Is Having Kids”).

A photograph representing the attitudes towards pregnancy of some environmentalists and other groups, from Joanna Benn, “Baby Decisions – adding to the world’s woes?”, BBC, 2 December 2008, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7759845.stm>.

Digital media may also perpetuate negative images of motherhood preexisting in the culture of the United Kingdom.  The diction used to describe pregnancy and motherhood is particularly distinct.  The word “pramface” refers to single mothers, often young and living off the government, usually of the lower-middle class.  On the other hand, a “yummy-mummy” is a well-off, glamorous mother, usually a celebrity, who makes motherhood seem unattainable.  As one blogger puts it, “[p]regnancy is no longer just about bringing forth the young, but rather a female state of being exclusively in vogue for the rich and the beautiful” (O’Reilly par. 7).  A large part of the entertainment and paparazzi business in the United Kingdom is dedicated to tasteless television shows and magazine articles detailing the lives of “pramfaces” and “yummy mummies” alike, usually with a tone perceived as disproving or mocking.  In addition, modern British culture emphasizes that women should aim for an education and a fulfilling career rather than for the duties of a stay-at-home mother; women who do choose motherhood are seen as “displaying a weakness” (O’Reilly par. 17).

Beyond the women who choose not to have children, mothers are waiting longer than ever before to become pregnant.  The average age at which a woman in the United Kingdom has her first child is nearing thirty despite the growing issue of teenage pregnancy[3] (“United Kingdom”, NationMaster.com).  There are few studies to show when men first choose to have children; it seems that culturally the decision is assumed to be primarily the woman’s (O’Reilly par. 25).  Feminist blogger O’Reilly notes that women feel pressures from the modern standard of beauty perpetuated by digital media, so they wait until they are no longer so concerned about their appearance; some may feel it is more socially acceptable to forgo motherhood altogether rather than risk becoming dowdy or unattractive (par. 8).   The modern pressures to have a career also play a role in women putting off having children; women note that they want to feel secure in both their career and their marriage before deciding to raise a child.  Most Europeans are in school for fifteen years on average, which increases their value in the work force (Sobotka, chapter 2.2.1).  Therefore, the decision to have a child is associated with a higher opportunity cost for Western Europeans since they have invested so much time and money in their educations and careers.  Neither women nor men are willing to give up their careers and the independence, material comfort, and fulfillment a career brings for a large family.

Fig. 2. The trend in average age at the time of first birth in England and Wales (1970-2000), from Tomas Sobotka, Postponement of childbearing and low fertility in Europe, 2004, <http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/rw/2004/t.sobotka/>.

The people portrayed on television in the United Kingdom often have these exact characteristics, usually because of their career.  Families are typically small, and neither gender is designated as a homemaker.  British comedies in the last twenty years focused on the middle-aged and elderly, while more recent shows are targeted towards teens; neither often feature family life or young children (“British Comedy”).  Motherhood is instead “a form of handicap” that people, or characters on television, have to overcome (Bunting).  A woman is only a true success when she has made an achievement in her career, her appearance, or her love life.  While television is often linked to teenage pregnancy, the effect comes from shows featuring sexual content rather than ones that include pregnancy or children.  The typical family on television has very few children.  For example, the recent comedy “Mutual Friends” portrayed a single-child family as the norm, which it has increasingly become (Gupta).  The focus of the show, however, is on the drama of the adults, while all the children in the show act more as living scenery.  In this and other shows, children usually are props at best, inconveniences at worst, which explains the primarily negative attitudes prevalent as well as the low birth rate.

Politics, Economics, and Race

The approximate total fertility rate for the United Kingdom is 1.66 children per woman, while a population-sustaining birthrate is generally calculated as 2.11 children per woman (“United Kingdom”, NationMaster.com).  However, the United Kingdom’s population is actually growing.  Immigration has kept the British population steadily increasing, but it has also led to increased racial tension.  Similar to the American Quiverfull movement, which seeks to increase the conservative Christian population by having the maximum possible amount of children, there is a certain amount of fear that the immigrant population will soon overtake the native British population (Joyce).  Some of this fear is unconscious, certainly, but xenophobia is still a major feature of the United Kingdom.  With the media reporting startling statistics of unemployment and job loss, there is added economic tension as foreigners come in and acquire jobs in the United Kingdom (“Recession Tracker”).  Another economic factor that has increased the panic surrounding the birthrate is the problem of pensions.  As the population of the United Kingdom ages, there are fewer workers and more pensioners, meaning that eventually the working population will be unable to support the retired population (Joyce).  Because of these tensions, politicians are attempting to increase the birth rate.  In order to make having children more economic for families, maternity leave is paid for by the state and is transferable to the other parent (“Dads”).  However, there is also concern that the NHS does not pay proper attention to pregnant women, both in prenatal care and at birth (“NHS maternity”).  Especially when compared to the rest of Europe, the United Kingdom’s pronatalist policies are lackluster, with limited financial incentives for having larger families and little medical support.  They have, however, taken action.

In 2003, David Willets, a member of Parliament, delivered a report on the effects of changing demographics on the future of pensions and the European economy, setting off debate, criticism, and fear.  The report claimed that by 2050, the working population in all of Europe will have fallen by 40 million people (Willets).  While this report began the discussion about and implementation of pronatalist policies, it offered few well-developed solutions.  At the end of his report, Willets asserts that immigration alone cannot save the population, but that the birth rate has to increase to protect Europe’s economy.  However, he is rather tentative when he discusses specific approaches.  Willets does note that countries where women are granted more “economic freedom also enjoy higher birthrates,” although he does not offer any evidence for this (Willets).  Beginning in the late 1990s, the United Kingdom began to make a conscious effort to encourage an increase in the birthrate while still attempting to pacify those who argued against exacerbating overpopulation or purposefully persuading women to have children.  According to a study published by The Institute for Fiscal Studies, these programs, mainly “child-contingent benefits,” actually increased the fertility of the families they affected (Brewer).  This shows that, despite the negative attitudes and media prevalent in the United Kingdom, economic benefits either overrule these cultural barriers or act as incentives to families for whom children are not possible without financial assistance.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Population will always play a role in world affairs, scarcity being an inherent feature of our planet, and digital media’s influence on both the issue and the possible solutions will only increase as the United Kingdom and the rest of the world increasingly utilize digital media technologies.  While ignoring the massive amounts of digital media and cultural norms pervasive in everyday life is impossible, women and couples must learn to make their own decisions, perhaps with the help of counseling, to determine if they truly wish to have children.  The enormous social pressures are burdens on every woman, whether she wishes to have children, already has children, or has no desire to ever have children.  Women and couples must learn to sort out their own feelings, beliefs, and needs.

The government should, however, continue its tax benefits for families in order to alleviate the financial strains that so often prevent or discourage couples from beginning a family.  As the high age of first birth clearly indicates, it takes far too long for women to feel financially comfortable enough to bear children.  This does not necessarily have to be a policy aimed at raising the birthrate, but rather the removal of an unnecessary barrier that women who already want to have children face.  As with any government that instigates a pronatalist policy of any sort, debate and contention will always remain because the birthrate is tied to so many issues, whether racial or economic, political or cultural.  However, until human rights are breached, a pronatalist government in the United Kingdom will only serve to balance out the negative stereotypes and attitudes of the culture and digital media.  Change is inevitable in the United Kingdom, and until the direction of change is certain, the conflict will continue and the societal pressures will remain.  Europe will weather the storms of infertility and pronatalism, but with a changed culture and changed politics.  Life will grow and adapt, and digital media will no doubt grow and adapt with it.

[2] A carbon footprint refers to the impact on the environment a person causes during his or her life, specifically the amount of carbon dioxide produced by him or her.

[3] The teenage birth rate for the United Kingdom is 30.8 per 1000 women under the age of 20 (“United Kingdom”, NationMaster.com).

Also, planning on redoing the banner this afternoon.  That’s always a fun alternative to actually working on the paper.

Alright, here goes.

Birthrates in the Land of the “Pramfaces”: The Effects of Digital Media on the United Kingdom’s Fertility

While many alarmists have posited for years that the world will soon be overrun with an exploding population too many people, leading to environmental, social, economic, and health issues, Western Europe faces a very different crisis.  A falling birthrate has led to an aging population and the possibility of a diminishing workforce, which politicians, citing analyses of demographics and problems funding pensions and welfare, insist demands pronatalist policies.  The United Kingdom has one of the highest birthrates in Western Europe, though it is still below what is considered a “population- sustaining” birthrate, yet the United Kingdom is still considered one of the least “baby-friendly” countries.  [KF1] Various forms of digital media, especially television, reflect the family life and culture of the United Kingdom, and an analysis of the digital media available and popular shows that perhaps the culture of the United Kingdom is not very supportive of large families or pregnant women.  The racial and gender issues involved in the new push for pronatalism as well as the social pressures on women have caused conflict in society that is reflected in and perpetuated by digital media.

There can be no doubt that digital media plays a large role in shaping and perpetuating the collective norms of the United Kingdom.  According to the most recent estimates from the CIA World Factbook, somewhere around 65.7% of the population uses the internet regularly, and the land line and cellular telephone systems are considered advanced and extensive (“World Factbook”).  However, there are regional differences in access to digital media.  Wales has fewer digital industries than many Western European countries and limited access to broadband.  In addition, there is limited access for Welsh speakers online, although Wales is officially bilingual, and the hilly landscape sometimes makes “access to broadband and mobile networks” unreliable (“Digital Inclusion”).  Due to changing norms, however, organizing and providing access to digital media is now a government policy issue (Sourbati).  Parliament and private groups alike are working to promote media literacy and bring digital business to Wales and the entirety of the United Kingdom (“Wales Digital”).  The program “Digital Britain” proposed in the summer of 2009 set out to “[maximize] the social and economic benefits from digital technologies” and aims for universal broadband access by 2012, although contention surrounds this issue because a tax on land line phone service would be implemented to pay for this (United Kingdom, Department for Culture, Media and Sport).

The socialized system of the United Kingdom affects other areas of digital media as well.   The British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world and is run by an Executive Board and the BBC Trust.  Established by a Royal Charter, the BBC theoretically enjoys what it calls “editorial independence” (“How the BBC”).   Since the BBC is funded by a license fee, debate has historically surrounded who should choose what is broadcast on the BBC; some, like the well-known Mary Whitehouse, demand that the BBC respond to the viewers and taxpayers, while others denounce any sort of censorship.  Mediawatch-UK, which developed from Mary Whitehouse’s Clean Up TV campaign, exists to condemn what it considers inappropriate or obscene shows on the BBC, and its members have made progress in getting a “public consultation” program put in place by the BBC (“Homepage”).  Because the BBC represents the United Kingdom to much of the world and pervades almost all forms of digital media, concerns about the societal norms and values expressed are understandable.

Digital media plays an important role in the cultural views of pregnancy and children.  For example, the various environmental ads on television and on the internet have led many to advocate not having children in order to reduce the carbon footprint of the United Kingdom.  One online journalist asserts that, “our growing numbers and our unchecked impact on the natural environment move us inexorably toward global calamities of unthinkable severity” (Feeney par. 2).  Environmentalists cite overpopulation issues, despite the United Kingdom’s low birthrate, and the carbon footprint of each child.  Another environmentalist and journalist, although admitting that she is uncomfortable with the possible environmental impact of more children, muses whether “it’s the media’s fault that some of us feel as if humanity is sliding from one patch of melting ice to another in a murky sea of financial, environmental and social woes” (Benn par. 30).  This has led some to both refuse to have children and encourage others to refrain from becoming pregnant as well.  While only extremists advocate enforcement of how many

A photograph representing the attitudes towards pregnancy of some environmentalists and other groups, from Joanna Benn, “Baby Decisions – adding to the world’s woes?”, BBC, 2 December 2008, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7759845.stm>.

children a couple can have by law, many support the voluntary use of contraceptives and abortion to control the population for the benefit of the environment (“Is Having Kids”).

Digital media may also perpetuate negative images of motherhood preexisting in the culture of the United Kingdom.  The diction used to describe pregnancy and motherhood is particularly distinct.  The word “pramface” refers to single mothers, often young and living off the government, usually of the lower-middle class.  On the other hand, a “yummy-mummy” is a well-off, glamorous mother, usually a celebrity, who makes motherhood seem unattainable.  As one blogger puts it, “[p]regnancy is no longer just about bringing forth the young, but rather a female state of being exclusively in vogue for the rich and the beautiful” (O’Reilly par. 7).  A large part of the entertainment and paparazzi population in the United Kingdom is dedicated to tasteless shows detailing the lives of “pramfaces” and “yummy mummies” alike, usually with a tone perceived as disproving or mocking.  In addition, modern British culture emphasizes that women should aim for an education and a fulfilling career rather than for the duties of a stay-at-home mother; women who do choose motherhood are seen as “displaying a weakness” (O’Reilly par. 17).

Beyond the women who choose not to have children, mothers are waiting longer than ever before to become pregnant.  The average age at which a woman in the United Kingdom has her first child is nearing thirty despite the growing issue of teenage pregnancy (“United Kingdom”).  There are few studies to show when men first choose to have children; it seems that culturally the decision is assumed to be primarily the woman’s (O’Reilly par. 25).  Feminist

blogger O’Reilly notes that women feel pressures from the modern standard of beauty perpetuated by digital media, so they wait until they are no longer so concerned about their

appearance; some may feel it is more socially acceptable to forgo motherhood altogether rather than risk becoming dowdy or unattractive (par. 8).   Again, the pressure to have a career plays a

Fig. 2. The trend in average age at the time of first birth in England and Wales (1970-2000), from Tomas Sobotka, Postponement of childbearing and low fertility in Europe, 2004, <http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/rw/2004/t.sobotka/>.

role in women putting off having children; women note that they want to feel secure in both their career and their marriage before having children.  Most Europeans are in school for fifteen years on average, which increases their value in the work force (Sobotka, chapter 2.2.1).  Therefore, the decision to have a child is associated with a higher opportunity cost for Western Europeans.  Neither women nor men are willing to give up their careers and the independence, material comfort, and fulfillment a career brings for a large family.

[KF2] The people portrayed on television in the United Kingdom often have these exact characteristics, either because of their career or inherited wealth.  Families are typically small, and neither gender is typically seen as a homemaker.  British comedies in the last twenty years focused on the middle-aged and elderly, while more recent shows are targeted towards teens and rarely feature family life or young children (“British Comedy”).  Motherhood is instead “a form of handicap” that people, or characters on television, have to overcome (Bunting).  A woman is only a true success when she has made an achievement in her career or her appearance.  [working on this section, sorry]

The approximate total fertility rate for the United Kingdom is 1.66 children per woman, while a population-sustaining birthrate is generally calculated as 2.11 children per woman.  However, the United Kingdom’s population is actually growing.  Immigration has kept the British population growing, but it has also led to increased racial tension.  Similar to the American Quiverfull movement, which seeks to increase the conservative Christian population by having the maximum possible amount of children, there is a certain amount of fear that the immigrant population will soon overtake the native British population (Joyce).  Some of this fear is unconscious, certainly, but xenophobia is still a major feature of the United Kingdom.  With the media reporting startling statistics of unemployment and job loss, there is added economic tension as foreigners come in and get jobs in the United Kingdom (“Recession Tracker”).  Other economic factors that have increased the panic surrounding the birthrate include the problem of pensions.  As the population of the United Kingdom grows older, there are fewer workers and more pensioners, meaning that eventually the working population will be unable to support the retired population (Joyce).  Because of these tensions, politicians are attempting to increase the birth rate.  In order to make having children more economic for families, maternity leave is paid for by the state and is transferable to the other parent (“Dads”).  However, there is concern that the NHS does not pay proper attention to pregnant women, both in prenatal care and at birth (“NHS maternity”).  Especially when compared to the rest of Europe, the United Kingdom’s pronatalist policies are lackluster, with limited financial incentives for having larger families and little support medically.  [need more info]

Digital media engages the issue of pronatalism in the United Kingdom through online journalism and blogging aimed at political, economic, and social issues as well as through the entertainment industry.  Population will always play a role in world affairs, scarcity being an inherent feature of our planet, and digital media’s influence on both the issue and the possible solutions will only increase as the United Kingdom and the rest of the world utilize this technology more.  Change is inevitable in the United Kingdom, and until the direction of change is certain, the conflict will continue and the societal pressures will remain.

[KF2]Need to expand this section

http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/en/fe/advert_mp.htm

Anyway, here’s the introductory paragraph the way it stands now:

While many alarmists have posited for years that the world will soon be overrun with too many people, leading to environmental, social, economic, and health issues, Western Europe faces a very different crisis.  A falling birthrate has led to an aging population and the possibility of a diminishing workforce, which politicians, citing analyses of demographics and problems funding pensions and welfare, insist demands pronatalist policies.  The United Kingdom has one of the highest birthrates in Western  Europe, though it is still below what is considered a “population sustaining” birthrate, yet the United Kingdom is still considered one of the least “baby-friendly” countries.  Various forms of digital media, especially television, reflect the family life and culture of the United Kingdom, and an analysis of the digital media available and popular shows that perhaps the culture of the United Kingdom is not very supportive of large families or pregnant women.  The racial and gender issues involved in the new push for pronatalism as well as the social pressures on women have caused conflict in society that is reflected in and perpetuated by digital media.

Interestingly enough, I’m finding a lot of rebuttals from women about why they don’t want to have children, which shows more the response side of things rather than the actual pressure.